Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article of manufacture for use in the construction industry. In particular, the present invention provides a system and method for joining building materials such as planks and plank flooring.
Description of the Related Art
In the building construction industry there is frequently a need to join adjacent planks. For example, plank flooring such as tongue and groove plank flooring requires that the tongue of a first plank be joined with the groove of a second adjacent plank. Standard practice typically relies primarily on hammers and/or nailers to join adjacent planks. Importantly, gaps between adjacent planks are to be eliminated during installation to provide a smooth surface when the job is finished and for years thereafter.
Imperfections in dimensions including any of plank, tongue, and groove dimensions increase the difficulty of making gapless joints. For example, a tongue may be slightly oversized such that greater effort is required to mate the tongue in the groove.
Yet other challenges include joints that are glued. Here, there is a need to distribute the glue in a manner that allows the joint to close while coating areas of the mating joint surfaces sufficiently to permanently fix adjacent planks together.
Because a signal achievement in the installation of a planked surface is gapless and tight joints, installers spend a great deal of time making up the plank joints. Despite this, gaps between planks remain an all too common occurrence owing to one or both of plank to plank gaps that exist immediately after the planked surface is installed and/or similar gaps that appear over time.